CIO budgets are improving, Gartner says

According to the Gartner Executive Programs 2013 CIO Agenda survey, it has been revealed that nearly 75% of global Government IT budgets were reported as flat or increasing in 2013.

Rick Howard, Research Director , Gartner said, After years of being told to "do more with less," many government CIOs report that budgets have stabilised or are increasing, placing them in a better position to deliver and manage IT services more effectively and efficiently. These CIOs are now poised to boost the business value of IT by radically restructuring their services portfolio to drive innovation and improve the performance of government.

Gartner’s latest annual survey of 1,959 CIOs worldwide from all industries was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2012 and represents CIO budget plans reported at that time. It included 398 public-sector CIOs from all tiers of government around the globe.

As part of the CIO agenda survey, strategic priorities are also investigated and ranked. The survey also indicated that improving the government IT organization and workforce has moved to the No. 2 spot in 2013 from No. 9 in 2012.

 The CIO Agenda Survey also indicated that 76 percent of government CIOs have significant leadership responsibilities outside of IT, with only 24 percent having no responsibilities beyond IT. The average tenure of government CIOs is 3.8 years, compared to an average of 4.6 years across all industries.